A future Labour government would double the paid paternity leave available to new father to four weeks, Ed Miliband has pledged.
The Labour leader also promised to increase the statutory paternity pay by over 85% from £138.18 to £260 per week, the equivalent of a 40-hour work week on minimum wage.
Labour say £150m for the changes will be paid for by savings to tax credits paid out to working families as they take advantage of an increase in funding for state-funded childcare.
However, business leaders from the British Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses have complained that the move amounts to a tax on business and the changes cause uncertainty in the job market.
Miliband will say in a speech on Monday:
“Thanks to the last Labour government, fathers have two weeks’ paid paternity leave. Millions of families have benefited with parents saying this has helped them support each other, share caring responsibilities and bond with their children.
“But the money isn’t great and too many Dads don’t take up their rights because they feel they have to go back so they can provide for their family.”
John Allan, FSB National Chairman said:
“The reality is that for small businesses in particular, extending paternity leave from two to four weeks makes it much more likely that they will have to buy in replacement staff as they will struggle with absences. That’s a cost that some firms will struggle to afford.”
A new system of shared parental leave following the Scandinavian model and championed by the Lib Dems will come into effect in April. Under these rules, new mothers will take at least two weeks of maternity leave immediately after the birth of their child, with couples able to share up to 50 weeks of leave after that receiving up to 37 weeks of pay.
